Machine control jog switch



7 Oct. 26, 1954 w a HQMMEL MACHINE CONTROL JOG SWITCH Filed May 5, 1953 7 JNVENTOR.

W/LZ/AM 5. HOMMEL BY 64% 2;. M

M v ATTOE/VEYS Patented Oct. 26, 1954 MACHINE CONTROL JOG SWITCH William B. Hommel, Gurnee, Ill., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application May 5, 1953, Serial No. 353,216

6 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to an electric jog relay or timing switch used for controlling the slow operation or turnin over of automatic machinery in a stepped or intermittent motion as when setting or adjusting the machine parts prior to full or continuous operation of the machine.

Many automatic machines such as lithographing machines, punch presses and the like embody cooperating parts which require frequent adjustment for accurate operation. In order to determine the accuracy of the adjustment of such parts, the machine usually is turned over, i. e. operated slowly by hand while observations of the operating parts are made. In heavy machines, an electric motor is utilized to turn the machine slowly. This however requires quick starting and stopping of the motor to log the machine through its stepped slow motion operation.

The instant invention contemplates overcoming this dimculty by the use of a jog switch to control the operation of the motor.

An object of the invention is the provision of an electric jog switch of simplified construction wherein operation of the machine may be controlled within one or less than one cycle of operation so that close observance of the cooperation of the machine parts may be readily effected.

Another object is the provision of such a jog switch wherein manual starting of the machine is provided so that the start of the cycle is controlled by the operator or observer.

Another object is the provision of such a jog switch wherein stopping of the machine, after a cycle is started, is effected automatically so as to provide for exceedingly short cycles of a predetermined controlled duration.

Another object is the provision of such a jog switch which may be rendered ineffective by the operator when the machine is in full or continuous operation.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a jog switch embodying the instant invention, with parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, as viewed from the left in Fig. 1, with parts broken away and parts in section;

Figs. 3 and 4 are schematic perspective views illustrating principal parts of the jog switch in different positions, the views also including an electric wiring diagram; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are fragmentary elevational views illustrating different operating positions of detail parts of the switch.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the invention the drawings illustrate an electric jog switch which is mounted on a stationary bracket II or other part of an automatic machine which is actuated by an electric motor I2 indicated in the wiring diagrams in Figs. 3 and 4. The switch is of the double contact make-and-break character and comprises primarily a pair of spaced stationary contacts I 1, i5 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) and a pair of cooperating spaced movable contacts IE, IT.

The stationary contacts I 4, I5 are secured in spaced relation in and along a short bar conductor 2I which extends outwardly from an insulator plate 22 (see Figs. 1 and 2) secured to a vertical face 23 of the bracket II. The plate 22 is made of any suitable, hard, electric insulating material.

The movable contacts I6, I1 are disposed directly above and in vertical alignment with the stationary contacts I4, I5 and are secured in breaker arms 25, 26 respectively. These breaker arms 25, 26 are mounted for free oscillation on a common stationary shaft 21 secured in and projecting outwardly from the insulator plate 22, the shaft 21 being adjacent and in parallelism with the conductor bar 2 I.

The breaker arms 25, 26 are separately urged toward the stationary contacts I4, I5 by flat leaf springs 28, 29. One end of each of the springs extends under and partially surrounds the breaker arm shaft 21 and terminates in a hook 3| (Figs. 1, 3 and 4) which engages against its associated breaker arm. The opposite end of each spring extends upwardly at right angles to the breaker arm shaft 21 and is secured to an auxiliary bar conductor 32 (Figs. 1 and 2). This conductor 32 like the conductor 2| is secured in and projects outwardly from the insulator plate 22, in parallelism with and adjacent the breaker arm shaft 2'1. The tension in the springs 28, 29 urges the breaker arms 25, 26 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, toward the stationary contacts I4, I5.

The breaker arms 25, 26 are oscillated on their common shaft 21 to make and break with the stationary contacts I4, I5 alternately so that one pair of contacts, for example contacts I5, I? will be closed (as shown in Fig. 4) while the other pair of contacts M, it will be open (also Fig. 4) and vice versa. This oscillation of the breaker arms 25, 25 is efiected by a pair of lobe cams 35, 36 which are located directly under the arms and which are secured to a rotatable cam shaft 3?.

The cam shaft 31 extends through a clearance opening 33 (Fig. 1) in the insulator plate 22 and is journaled in a bearing 39 (Fig. 2) formed on the bracket l i. The shaft 3? extends beyond the bearing and carries a sprocket i! which is rotated by a chain 42 connecting with and driven by the machine to which the jog switch is attached. The sprocket rotates only when the machine is in operation. Rotation of the sprocket ll rotates the cam shaft 3'! and the two lobe cams 35, 35 securely mounted thereon. Each of the breaker arms 25, 26 carries a rider button it which engages and rides on the cams. These bu tons 4 1 preferably are made of insulating material.

The lobe cams 35, 36 are identical in construction and are provided with oppositely disposed lobes or high spots which merge into dwell portions which are concentric with the cam shaft 3'1. Cam 35 is formed with opposed lobes 56, 4? (Figs. 3 and and intervening concentric dwell portions 38, 5. Cam 38 is formed with opposed lobes 5!, 52 and intervening concentric dwell portions 53, ct. The two cams 35, 36 are arranged on the cam shaft 3'! with the lobes of one cam disposed at right angles to the lobes of the other cam as best shown in Fig. 5, so that all of the lobes are spaced apart 90 degrees. With this arrangement of the cams, the concentric or dwell portions of the cams overlap.

Thus during rotation of the cam shaft 3? a lobe of one cam is holding one breaker arm away from its stationary contact while the dwell portion of the other cam permits the other breaker arm to close against its stationary contact. Hence one set of contacts is open while the other set is closed.

When the machine is in continuous operation the rider buttons M are held out of engagement with the lobe cams 35, 36 to prevent unnecessary wearing of these parts and to render the jog switch inoperative. This is brought about by a pair of bell crank latches 56, 51 which are disposed adjacent the free ends of the breaker arms 25, These latches are pivotally mounted on a stationary pin 5t secured in and projecting from the insulator plate 22, the pin being in parallelism with the cam shaft 31.

Each latch 56, 57 is formed with an upright leg 6! and a horizontal leg 62. The upper ends of the upright legs 6! are provided with tapered projections or lugs 83 which normally engage under the free ends of the breaker arms 25, 26 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 to hold the arms in their inoperative positions when the machine is in continuous operation. The latches are retained in this position by tension springs 65 which are coiled around the pin 58. One end of the springs is secured in a hole in the pin while the opposite end extends up adjacent the upright legs 6! of the latches and is hooked around th back edges of the latches. These springs urge the upright legs of the latches in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 1) toward the free ends of the breaker arms 25, 26.

When the jog switch is to be used for a machine jogging operation, the latches 56, 5! are withdrawn to release the breaker arms 25, 2B. This withdrawal of the latches 5B, 51 is effected by a normally deenergized electric solenoid 61 having a vertically movable core 68 provided with an insulated head 69 disposed immediately below the free ends of the horizontal legs 52 of the latches 56, 51. When the solenoid ti is energized the core 68 moves upwardly and engages its head 89 under the legs 82 of the latches and thereby rocks the latches outwardly away from the breaker arms 25, 26 and thus releases the arms. A ten-- sion spring it attached to the lower end of the core 68 draws the core down when the solenoid is deenergized.

Energization of the solenoid bl is effected through a jogging circuit A (see wiring diagram Figs. 3 and l) which may be connected into a main machine circuit B through a selector switch C. These circuits transmit electric current from a suitable source of supply such as a generator 72, to the machine motor I2. The main machine circuit B includes the generator '52, the motor I2, a normally open start switch '13, and a contact i l of the selector switch C.

When the start. switch 13 is closed and the selector switch C is closed against its contact Hi as shown in Fig. 3, the machine circuit B is closed and current from the generator 12 is transmitted to the motor H. to operate the machine continuously. Electric current passing along this circuit travels from the generator i2 along a connecting wire 16 to and through the selector switch C, its contact M, a connecting wire "it to and through the closed start switch it, a wire 73, motor l2, and wire '59 returning to the generator 12.

The jog circuit A includes an open contact 8! of the selector switch C and a double contact jog switch D. The jog switch D normally is closed against a pair of contacts 82, 33 of a solenoid energizing circuit E as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 but upon actuation manually by an operator is movable out of engagement with the contacts 82, t3 and into engagement with a set of contacts 8 3, 85 in the jog circuit A. One or the other of these circuits A, E can be energized individually but not simultaneously by the jog switch D.

When it is desired to jog the machine through a stepped operation before setting it in full or continuous operation as explained above, the selector switch C is withdrawn from the machine circuit contact 14 and engaged with the jog cir cuit contact 8| as shown in Fig. 4. This cuts out the motor start switch 13 and puts the motor l2 under the control of the jog switch D.

This shifting of the selector switch C to contact 8| automatically establishes the solenoid energizing circuit E. Establishment of this circuit causes electric current from the generator 12 to flow alon the wire 16 to and through the selector switch C, contact 8|, a connecting wire 81', contact 82, closed jog switch D, contact 83, a wire 88, solenoid 61, a wire 89, and wire 19 back to the generator l2. Current passing along this circuit E energizes the solenoid 67 and thereby lifts its core 68. The core lifts its head 59 against and rocks the latches 56, 51 as shown in Fig. l and thus the breaker arms 25, 26 are released.

The release of the breaker arms 25, 26 will always cause one pair of breaker contacts to close, dependin upon the positions of the lobe cams 35, 36. In Fig. 4 it will be noted that contacts I5 and I! of the breaker arm 26 are closed while contacts l4, 16 of arm 25 are open. The jog circuit is thus set for a jogging cycle of operation of the machine.

The jogging cycle is effected by manual operation of the jog switch D. When this switch is actuated by the operator, it leaves the contacts 82, 83 and engages against the contacts 84, 85. This actuation of the jog switch immediately breaks the solenoid circuit E and simultaneously establishes the jog circuit A. The breaking of the solenoid circuit E deenergizes the solenoid 6i and permits its sprin 10 to return the core 68 and head 69 to their original lowered positions. This permits the latches 5t, 5'! to return to looking position. One of the latches may thus relock one of the breaker arms 25, 26 depending upon the positions of the earns 35, 36 but never more than one arm can be relocked. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the breaker arm 25 is at the peak of its elevation and is in position to be relocked when the latch 56 is released. Fig. 6 shows how this latch 56 returns to position with its lug 63 under the breaker arm 25 while the lug 63 on latch 57 is above the closed breaker arm 26.

The closed breaker arm 26 with its contact I? in engagement with its stationary contact l5 as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 thus establishes the jog circuit A. Electric current from the generator 12 thus flows along wire 16, selector switch C, contact BI, wire 81, contact 82, a connecting wire 9|, contact 8d, jog switch D, contact 85, a wire 92, conductor bar 2|, contact l5, breaker contact ll, breaker arm 26, spring 29, auxiliary contact bar 32, wire 93, Wire 78, motor i2, and Wire 19 returning to the generator 12. The motor I2 is thus excited and turns the machine over through a partial rotation controlled by the resulting rotation of the earns 35, 36. This partial rotation of the machine partially rotates the cam shaft 3? and thus rotates the earns 35, 36.

In the example shown in Fig. 4, the controlling cam is the cam 36. As the cam 36 turns, the rider button M on the breaker arm 26 moves from the dwell portion 54 of the cam to the peak of the lobe 52. This 90 degree turn or rotation of the cam 3t lifts the breaker arm 25 and breaks engagement of the contacts [1, l5 and thus breaks the jo circuit A. This stops the motor l2 immediately. As the breaker arm 26 rocks upwardly it snaps past the lug 63 on the waiting latch 51 and thus the latch relocks the breaker arm 265 in elevated position to keep its contacts broken.

Thus the machine was jogged through a partial rotation, in this case 90 degrees of one revolution. By releasing the jog switch D to effect its return to its original position and repeating the operation above described the machine may be jogged throu h any number of partial rotations to observe operating conditions and efiect proper adjustment before setting the machine in continuous operation. When such full operation of the machine is desired, the shifting of the selector switch 0 back into the full run position in engagement with contact 14 as shown in Fig. 3 cuts out the jogging circuit A and solenoid circuit E and thus sets the stage for continuous operation of the motor 12 through the start switch 13.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts with cut departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. An electromechanical jog switch mechanism for controlling the turning over of a machine under its own power in a step-by-step movement,

comprising in combination a pair of cooperating breaker switches each having a pair of separable breaker contacts, means operable by the machine for opening and closing said breaker switches alternately, latch means adjacent each of said breaker switches for retaining an open switch in its opened condition to transfer control to the other of said switches, means for actuating said latches to release both of said switches for determining which one is closed and to lock the open switch in its open condition, and electric means including a normally open electric circuit connecting said breaker contacts with a source of electric current and a source of power for the machine, said electric circuit including a normally open jog switch operable manually for clos ing the circuit to effect stepped operation of the machine through a cycle determined by the closed period or" at least one of said breaker switches.

2. An electromechanical jog switch mechanism for controlling the turning over of a machine under its own power in a step-by-step movement, comprising in combination a pair of cooperating breaker switches each having a pair of separable breaker contacts, cam means operable by the machine for opening and closing said breaker switches alternately, latch means adjacent each of said breaker switches for retaining an open switch in its opened condition to transfer control to the other of said switches, means for actuating said latches to release both of said switches for determining which one is closed and to lock the open switch in its open condition, and electric means including a normally open electric circuit connectin said breaker contacts with a source of electric current and a source of power for the machine, said electric circuit including a normally open jog switch operable manually for closing the circuit to eiTect stepped operation of the machine through a cycle determined by the closed period of at least one of said breaker switches.

3. An electromechanical jog switch mechanism for controlling the turning over of a machine under its own power in a step-by-step movement comprising in combination a pair of cooperating breaker switches each having a pair of separable breaker contacts, a pair of lobe cams mounted on a common shaft for rotation therewith, each of said cams having a pair of oppositely disposed lobes, and the lobes of one cam being disposed axially at right angles to the lobes of the other cam for opening and closing said breaker switches alternately, means operable by the machine for rotating said cam shaft, latch means adjacent each of said breaker switches for retaining an open switch in its opened condition to transfer control to the other of said switches, means for actuating said latches to release both of said switches for determining which one is closed and to lock the open switch in its open condition, and electric means including a normally open electric circuit connecting said breaker contacts with a source of electric current and a source of power for the machine, said electric circuit including a normally open jog switch operable manually for closing the circuit to effect stepped operation of the machine through a cycle determined by the closed period of at least one of said breaker switches.

4. An electromechanical jog switch mechanism for controlling the turning over of a machine under its own power in a step-by-step movement, comprising in combination a pair of cooperating breaker switches each having a pair of separable breaker contacts, means operable by the machine for opening and closing said breaker switches alternately, latch means adjacent each of said breaker switches for retaining an open switch in its opened condition to transfer control to the other of said switches, means for actuatin said latches to release both of said switches for determining which one is closed and to lock the open switch in its open condition, and electric means includin a normally open electric circuit connecting said breaker contacts with a source of electric current and a source of power for the machine, an auxiliary circuit including said source of electric current and an electric solenoid having a movable core operable against said latches for releasing them, and a jog switch normally closed against contacts in said auxiliary circuit to keep said auxiliary circuit normally closed, said jog switch being manualy operable to open said auxiliary circuit to deenergize said solenoid and to close said normally open circuit to effect stepped operation of the machine through a cycle determined by the closed period of at least one of said. breaker switches.

5. An electromechanical jog switch mechanism for controllingthe turning over of a machine under its own power in a step-by-step movement, comprising in combination a pair of cooperating breaker switches each having a pair of separable breaker contacts, means operable by the machine for opening and closing said breaker switches alternately, latch means adjacent each of said breaker switches for retaining an open switch in its opened condition to transfer control to the other of said switches, means for actuating said latches to release both of said switches for determining which one is closed and to lock the open switch in its open condition, and electric means including a normally open electric jog circuit connecting said breaker contacts with a source of electric current and a source of power for the machine, a machine circuit including said source of electric current and said source of power for the machine, a start and stop switch controllingsaid machine circuit, and a selector switch connected with said source of electric current and selectively engageable with a contact in said jog circuit and a similar contact in said machine circuit for cutting out one of said circuits while closing the other to render said jog circuit inoperative when the machine is running continuously, said jog circuit including a normally open jog switch operable manually for closin the circuit to effect stepped operation of the machine through a cycle determined by the closed period of at least one of said breaker switches.

6. An electromechanical jog switch mechanism for controlling the turningover of a machine under its own power in a step-by-step movement, comprising in combination a stationary bar conductor, a pair of pivotally mounted breaker switch arms having free ends engageable with said conductor, spring means urging said arms into engagement with said conductor, a stationary auxiliary bar conductor electrically connected to said arms, means operable by the machine to pivotally rock said arms alternately to make and break contact with said bar conductor, latch means adjacent each of said arms for locking engagement therewith, means for actuating said latches in one direction to release said arms to insure closing of one of said arms against said bar conductor and for actuating said latches in another direction to lock the other of said arms in an opened condition away from said bar conductor to transfer control to the closed arm, and electric means including a normally open electric circuit connecting said bar conductor and said auxiliary bar conductor with a source of electric current and a source of power for the machine, said electric circuit including a normally open jog switch operable manually for closing the circuit through said closed breaker arm to effect operation of the machine through a cycle determined by the closed period of said closed breaker arm.

No references cited. 

